Indian-American physician to receive National

Humanities Medali. Indian-American physician-author Abraham

Verghese, whose work has emphasised empathy in medicine, has been
selected for the prestigious 2015 National Humanities Medal, the White
House has announced.

ii. US President Barack Obama would confer the honour upon Verghese, along
with 11 others, and the recipients of 2015 National Medal of Arts at ceremony
on September 21.

Uber partners NSDC, Maruti to skill 1 million by 2018

i. Transportation app Uber has launched a new initiative in partnership with
Maruti Suzuki and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for creating
livelihood opportunities for one million people by 2018.

ii. Uber Technologies Inc. is an American multinational online transportation

network company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Vijaya Bank gets award. Vijaya Bank has bagged the second prize
under Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar (Region C) for the year 2015-16.

ii. The prize was accepted by Kishore Sansi, Managing Director & CEO Vijaya
Bank, from President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

iii. Vijaya Bank is a fastest growing Public Sector Bank with its Corporate
Office in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Ahmedabad to host African Development Bank meet

next year
i. India will host the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB)
Group in May next year.

ii. To be held at Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre, Ahmedabad on May 22-

26.

Award for KVGB insurance effort

i. Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank has bagged four
awards for inclusive insurance for 2016 from Skoch Group.

ii. The bank, which operates in nine districts of Karnataka covering 57 taluks,
has brought 28 lakh people under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna, PM
Suraksha Bima Yojna and PM Jan Dhan Yojna.
Reliance Communications-Aircel merger approved
i. Reliance Communications (RCom) board has approved the companys
merger with Aircel, in one of the biggest deals in the telecom space in recent
times.

ii. The company will be managed by an independent professional team under

the supervision of the Board.

Two India-Born MIT Scientists Win Prestigious US

Awards
i. Two Indo-American scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) have been conferred with prestigious awards for their path-breaking
inventions.

ii. Nasik-born Ramesh Raskar, an imaging scientist and inventor at MIT, has
been awarded the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize 2016.

iii. Dinesh Bharadia, the researcher at MIT, won the Paul Baran Young Scholar
Award of the US-based Marconi Society.

17sep

Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma conferred with Arjuna

Award
i. Sports Minister Vijay Goel conferred Arjuna Awards on cricketers Rohit
Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane at a function in New Delhi.

ii. Sharma was given the award for 2015 and Rahane for 2016.

All India Radio Launches Balochi Website, Mobile App

i. All India Radio (AIR) has been launched a website and mobile app for its
Balochi service to reach people who speak this language across the globe.

ii. The move to start an AIR web service comes in the backdrop of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech in which he had brought
up the issue of Pakistani atrocities on people of Balochistan and PoK.

India Signs MoU With Sri Lanka To Support Fishermen

And Farmers
i. India and Sri Lanka Signed MoU to support livelihood of the fishing and
farming communities by providing them equipment worth USD 2 million in
the countrys southern Hambantota district.

ii. The agreement was signed by Y K Sinha, High Commissioner of India and W
M M R Adikari, Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Development in the presence of Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources Development.

Ujjivan bags award for inclusive insurance

i. Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, a microfinance institution, has won the
Platinum Award for Inclusive Insurance at the SKOCH Insurance Awards 2016.

Paytm to power IRCTCs payment gateway

i. Mobile payment and commerce platform Paytm has tied up with the
countrys largest rail ticketing platform IRCTC to enable digital payments for
travellers.

ii. The Paytm Wallet is already accepted on the IRCTC platform and is in
addition to the native integration of Paytms payment gateway to the IRCTC
application

Telangana signs MoU to help Goa in IT development

i. The Telangana government has been signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the Goa government to help the latter in
information technology (IT) development.

ii. Through this MoU, Telangana will help the Goa government in formulating
relevant policies.

HAL gets membership of APAQG with voting rights

i. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Friday has been conferred the prestigious
membership of the Asia-Pacific Aerospace Quality Group (APAQG)under the
category 'Full Member with voting rights'.

ii. This makes India the seventh nation to join the APAQG under the
International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG).

V K Sharma gets additional charge as LIC chairman

i. V K Sharma, who is currently one of the two managing directors at Life
Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has taken additional charge as
Chairman, LIC of India.ii. Sharma joined LIC in the year 1981 as a Direct
Recruit Officer.
Former Italian PM Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dies
i. Former Italian president, prime minister and central bank governor Carlo
Azeglio Ciampi has died at the age of 95.

US playwright Edward Albee dies aged 88

i. Legendary playwright Edward Albee, widely considered one of the greats of
his generation, has died at the age of 88.

ii. A three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he was arguably America's greatest

living playwright after the deaths of Arthur Miller and August Wilson in 2005.

18 september

1. Punjab National Bank appointed Virat Kohli as its

new brand ambassador
i. State-owned Punjab National Bank has roped in Indian test skipper
Virat Kohli as brand ambassador to improve its image which has
taken a hit due to rising bad loans.

ii. Since its inception in 1895, PNB has been people's bank serving
millions of customers throughout India.

2. Abhishek Bachchan Holds a Guinness World Record

i. Abhishek Bachchan might be the most underrated actor of the
industry, but one didn't know that he's actually hold a Guinness
World Record .

ii. Jr Bachchan holds the record for 'Most Public Appearances made
by a Film Star in 12 Hours.' In fact, he beat Hollywood actor Will
Smith who had made three public appearances in 2 hours during the
promotions of his film I, Robot in 2004.

3. 'Sunrise', Parched' scripts archived at Oscar library

i. The scripts of Adil Hussain-starrers "Sunrise" and "Parched" have

been archived at the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences.

ii. He also shared a copy of the letter from Margaret Herrick Library
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

4. China successfully launches Tiangong-2 space lab

i. China, launched its second experimental space station.The
Tiangong 2 was carried into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

ii. Tiangong-2 is a precursor to a multi-module station that China will

be assembling later this decade.It is a Chinese space laboratory and
part of the Project 921-2 space station program.China's first space
station

5. Indian-Origin Peer Wins Lifetime Achievement Award In UK

i. Lord Narendra Babubhai Patel ,a 78-year-old Indian-origin British

obstetrician and member of the UK Parliament was honored the
'Lifetime Achievement Award'during the Asian Achievers Awards for
his work in the medical profession and public life in Britain over the
years.

6. Guided missile destroyer 'Mormugao' launched in Mumbai

i. The vessel has been built by government-run Mazgaon Dock

Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) and belongs to the Visakhapatnam class of
ships being constructed under Project 15B.

ii. The Guided Missile Destroyer ship of Project 15B was launched by
chief guest Reena Lanba, wife of Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Chief of
Naval Staff.

7. World Bank will invest nearly 1,000 crore rupees in Assam

i. World Bank will invest nearly 1,000 crore rupees in Assam for the
betterment of the inland waterways.

ii. The central government has also assured to re-construct jetty for
which 100 percent assistance will be given by the Centre

8. Prabhu launches cleanliness drive at railway premises

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 17-Sep-2016 launched the

'Swachhta Saptah' as part of the Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Mission
from New Delhi Railway Station.

ii. After launching the cleanliness drive Suresh Prabhu said In order
to create massive awareness on sanitation and cleanliness at railway
premises and make hygiene a habit amongst the travelling public.

9. ISRO, Katrina, Juhi Chawla will get Priyadarshini Global Awards

i. Bengaluru-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and

Bollywood actors Katrina Kaif and Juhi Chawla are among recipients
of the Priyadarshini Global Awards 2016 which will be presented on
September 19.

ii. Other recipients of the awards, instituted by a socio-cultural and

educational organisation Priyadarshini Academy, in various fields are
from Israel, Switzerland and UK.

10. Odisha government to organise two-day national conference on

labour

. Odisha government, labour minister Prafulla Mallick at a press

meet on Saturday announced that the state government in
association with International Labour Organisation (ILO) will
organize a two-day long national conference on labour in the city
from September 20.

19 sep

Malaysian envoy releases translated book on Sai Baba

i. The Consul General of Malaysia in India Eldeen Husaini Muhammad
Hashim has released the translated version of 'Sai Charitra Granth',
a book on the life of Sai Baba.

ii. The book is translated into Malay by a social outfit called 'I love
Sai'.

Rio Paralympics 2016 Concluded

i. The 15th Rio 2016 Paralympic Games 2016 (7-18 September) is
over now and this time, we have witnessed some of the world
record-breaking performances by the athletes.

ii. The 2020 Summer Paralympics, the 16th edition of the

international multi-sports event, will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from
25 August to 6 September 2020. Click here for more

Malayalam critic M Leelavathi bags Mohanan Suvarna

Mudra Award
i. Eminent Malayalam critic and academician Dr M Leelavathi has
been chosen for the prestigious N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award
2016, instituted in memory of well-known short story writer N
Mohanan.

ii. The honour comprises a gold medal of one sovereign.

West Bengal to confer Bangabibhushan award to Lata
Mangeshkar
i. To honour her contributions to Bengali songs, West Bengal
government will confer this year's 'Bangabibhushan' to legendary
singer Lata Mangeshkar.

ii. Banga Bibhushan is a title instituted by the West Bengal

Government to honour the services of personalities in various fields.

17th NAM summit held at Venezuela

i. 17th NAM summit held in Venezuela and Vice President Hamid
Ansari held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on a
host of issues of mutual interest.

ii. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro touted the latest meeting of

the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a large Cold War-era bloc, as one
that would be remembered for centuries to come.

Alka Sirohi appointed UPSC chairman

i. Former IAS officer Alka Sirohi has been appointed as chairman of
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

ii. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Sirohi to perform the

duties of the post of the chairman, UPSC, with effect from
September 21, an order issued by Department of Personnel and
Training.

Emmy Awards 2016

i. 68th Emmy Awards, television's biggest award ceremony, was held
in Los Angeles on September 18. 'Game of Thrones' won the best
Drama Series award.

ii. Tatiana Maslany won the best actress award for Orphan Black,
Rami Malek won the best actor for Mr. Robot. Click here for more..

Federal Bank launches FederalSkill Academy at

Coimbatore
i. Federal Bank has launched its second FederalSkill Academy at
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu as part of its CSR initiatives.

ii. The first one being inaugurated last year at Ernakulam.

Charkhi Dadri is states 22nd district
i. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today announced Charkhi Dadri
as 22nd district of Haryana.

ii. At present, Charkhi Dadri is part of Bhiwani, the states largest

district carved out on December 22, 1972.

Selfie with toilet to boost Swachh Bharat in

Ludhiana
i. To make the Swachh Bharat Mission successful and encourage
people to use clean toilets, the Ludhiana district administration has
started a Selfie with my Shauchalya campaign.

ii. Under the initiative, beneficiaries of toilets provided by the

Punjab government and Bharti Foundation had been urged to click a
selfie with their toilets.

Govt to expand DBT to 147 schemes by next March

i. The Government plans to double the number of schemes under
DBT to 147 by March and has launched pilots for paying subsidy on
food, kerosene and fertiliser directly via bank accounts of
beneficiaries.

ii. Benefits and subsidies in as many as 74 schemes of 17

government departments and ministries were paid directly to
beneficiaries under DBT.

iii. The Government planned to extend DBT to 147 schemes by March

2017.

World's largest ship lift begins trial run in China

i. The trial operation of a world's largest permanent ship lift
designed by Chinese and German engineers on China's Three Gorges
Dam began.

ii. The ship lift, is the largest and most sophisticated in the world,
according to Three Gorges Corp, a state-owned company responsible
for the construction of the project.
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to get humanitarian
award
i. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been honored as the 2016
humanitarian of the year by students and faculty at the Harvard
Foundation.

ii. Suu Kyi gained international prominence as the General Secretary

of the newly formed National League for Democracy in Myanmar in
1990.

iii. She became one of the worlds most well-known political

prisoners during her 15 years of house arrest for participating in
protests against the government.

Lt Gen Surinder Singh Takes Charge Of Western

Command
i. Lt Gen Surinder Singh today took over as General Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command.

ii. He is the successor of Lt Gen KJ Singh who retired on July 31,2016.

iii. Prior to this, he was on attachment to the Deputy Chief of Army

Staffs Branch at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi after having
completed his tenure as the GOC, 33 Corps at Siliguri in August.

Monika Kapil Mohta appointed Ambassador to Sweden

i. Ms. Monika Kapil Mohta, presently Additional Secretary in the
Ministry, has appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the
Kingdom of Sweden.

Indian-Origin South African Is Head Of Global Blood

Service
i. An Indian-origin South African has become the first person from
the African continent to head a global organisation of medicine
professionals working for the safety of blood transfusion worldwide.

ii. Ravi Reddy, currently the Chief Operations Officer of the South
African National Blood Service (SANBS), will head the International
Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT), headquartered in Amsterdam.

China and Russia conduct naval exercises Joint Sea-

2016 to improve security
i. The Chinese and Russian navies have concluded Joint Sea-2016,
eight days of naval exercises, in the South China Sea.

ii. The Joint Sea-2016 was launched as a sign of growing cooperation

between their armed forces against the backdrop of regional
territorial disputes.

20 sep

India successfully test-fires surface-to-air missile

i. India has successfully test-fired its new, long-range surface-to-air
missile jointly developed with Israel from a defence base off Odisha
coast.

ii. The missile was launched from a mobile launcher at the

Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.

Punjabi version of PM Narendra Modi's website

launched
i. People can now visit the PM Modi's website in the Punjabi
language at the URL www.pmindia.gov.in/pa.

ii. The website which was initially started in English and Hindi, is
now accessible in nine regional languages - Bengali, Gujarati,
Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi.

Param-Ishan supercomputer unveiled at IIT Guwahati

i. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has unveiled the Param-Ishan
supercomputer at IIT Guwahati.

ii. The high-performance Param-Ishan has computing speed of 250

teraFLOPS and capacity of 300 tera bites (TB).

Railways to launch Yatri Mitra for differently-abled

i. The Ministry of Railways has announced the launch of Yatri Mitra
Seva, through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC) to provide wheelchair-cum-porter services for the
differently-abled, elderly and ailing passengers at major railway
stations.

Vladimir Putin's Big Win

i. Russian President Vladimir Putins United Russia party won a huge
victory in the countrys parliamentary election.

ii. Putins party had won 54% of the vote in elections for the Duma,
the lower house of parliament.

China, Russia conducted joint naval exercises Joint

Sea-2016
i. Chinese and Russian naval forces began joint naval exercises in
the South China Sea.

ii. The 8-day exercises would highlight marine corps units in live-
fire drills, sea crossing and island landing operations and island
defense.

First Indian music-dance festival starts in Australia

i. The 10-week long festival Confluence: Festival of India was
inaugurated by Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma
in Sydney, Australia.

India's GDP to grow by 8% over next few yrs: S&P

i. Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings has forecasted a
"relatively high quality and steroid-free" GDP growth of 8% for India
over the next few years.

ii. This would be backed by a broadening consumption base.

Vijaya Bank rolls out 3 new apps

i. Vijaya Bank has launched 3 innovative information technology
products.

ii. The new IT products, according to Kishore Sansi, Managing

Director and CEO of Vijaya Bank, are: VPAYQWIK, Vijaya *99# and V-
eConnect+.

ADB approves $631 million loan for Vizag-Chennai

industrial corridor
i. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $ 631 million
loan to develop the proposed Vishakhapatnam- Chennai industrial
corridor, the first such along a coastline in India.

ii. Part of the larger East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) that will
extend 2,500 km from Kolkata in West Bengal and Tuticorin in Tamil
Nadu, the government expects the project to bring manufacturing
and export industries to India's east coast.

New ED for Syndicate Bank

i. SS Mallikarjuna Rao has taken charge as executive director of
Syndicate Bank. Prior to joining the bank, Rao was General Manager
and CFO of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), looking after alternate
delivery channels, marketing and publicity.

Facebook appoints Anand Chandrasekaran for its

Messenger app
i. Facebook has roped in former chief product officer at Snapdeal,
Anand Chandrasekaran, for a strategic role for its Messenger app.

ii. Chandrasekaran, who served as the senior director of mobile and

search products at Yahoo between 2011 and 2014.

Jubilant FoodWorks CEO Ajay Kaul resigns

i. Ajay Kaul has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of Jubilant
FoodWorks Limited.

ii. However, Kaul will continue in his current role till March 2017.
BSE ties up with Twitter to provide live stock updates
i. Investors can now track BSE updates real-time on Twitter by
following the official Bombay Stock Exchange account.

ii. The investors can now get live updates of BSE Sensex levels,
stock prices and opening and closing figures of Sensex companies.

Deaf shooter Priyesha Deshmukh wins bronze in

World Championship
i. Deaf Indian shooter Priyesha Deshmukh won the bronze medal in
her first-ever international competition at the first World Deaf
Shooting Championships held in Kazan, Russia.

ii. She won bronze in the 10m air rifle category and it was her
maiden international participation.

21 sep

Indira Awas Yojana Renamed After Prime Minister

i. The flagship rural housing scheme Indira Awas Yojana (IAY),
started by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been
restructured and renamed as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY),
which will be launched next month.

i. The IAY will be subsumed by the PMAY from April 1 next year.
Under the new scheme, the government is aiming to construct one
crore houses by 2019.

Govt merges Railway Budget with Union Budget

i. The Cabinet today approved the scrapping of the 92-year old
practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget and merged it with
the Union Budget.

ii. The Cabinet also approved the advancing of the date of

presentation of the Union Budget to February 1, as against the
current practice of presenting it on the last working day of February.
Centre announces new list of 27 smart cities
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi made it to the
list of 27 Smart Cities that was announced.

ii. Vadodara, Agra, Nagpur, Ajmer, Amritsar, Gwalior, Thane and

Thanjavur are some of the other cities that have been named.

iii. The 27 cities will require the investment of Rs 66,883 crore.

Government approves 9 highway projects worth Rs

2,600 cr
i. The central government has approved nine highway projects at a
cost of Rs 2,600.31 crore.

ii. These projects include Rehabilitation and Up-gradation of

Allahabad-Mirzapur section of NH-76 in Uttar Pradesh to 2-lane.

iii. The other highways approved are in the states of Karnataka,

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Shubha Mudgal to get 'LalitArpan Samman'

i. Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal will be honoured with
the annual 'LalitArpan Samman' this year.

ii. Mudgal, a Padma Shri recipient, was born in Allahabad and is

known for her singing in genres of Khayal, Thumri and Dadra.

Bangladesh's Junaid Ahmad new World Bank head in

India
i. Junaid Ahmad has become the World Bank's Country Director for
India, replacing Onno Ruhl who served a four-year term based out of
the national capital.

ii. The World Bank is an international financial institution that

provides loans to developing countries
Google rolls out travel app
i. Google Inc. has rolled out Google Trips, a new travel app that lets
users plan each day of their trip and help them manage travel
reservations.

Ajay Shirke re-elected as BCCI Secretary

i. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has elected Ajay
Shirke as Secretary unopposed at its Annual General Meeting.

ii. Shirke became the secretary in July after Anurag Thakur was
elevated as the president.

iii. In another major development, former Indian seamer Venkatesh

Prasad was appointed as the new chairman of selectors.

Anup Kumar to lead India in Kabaddi World Cup

i. Star raider Anup Kumar from Haryana will lead India in next
months Kabaddi World Cup to be held in Ahmedabad.

ii. All-rounder Manjeet Chillar will be Anups deputy in the 14-

member squad for the tournament that is set to commence on
October 7 and will feature 12 teams.

Misbah-ul-Haq becomes first Pakistani to receive Test

mace from ICC
i. Misbah-ul-Haq has received the prestigious ICC Test Championship
mace for inspiring Pakistan to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings.

ii. This is for the first time a Pakistani cricketer has received the
award.

iii. The current rankings system was introduced in 2003.

Flipkart becomes 1st e-commerce in India to cross

100 million customers
i. Flipkart has crossed the 100-million registered users mark,
becoming the first e-commerce company in the country to hit the
milestone.

ii. The Bengaluru-based company has doubled its user base over the
last year.

iii. It added 25 million users in the past six months alone.

Oscar-winning writer and director dies at 71

i. Oscar-winning writer and film director Curtis Hanson has died at
his home in Hollywood at the age of 71.

ii. He is known for his work in films like Kevin Spacey-starrer LA

Confidential, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild.

22 sep

Delhi's Race Course Road renamed as Lok Kalyan

Marg
i. Delhi's Race Course Road has now been renamed as Lok Kalyan
Marg.

ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence is located on this road.

Mukesh Ambani tops Forbes' 100 Richest Indians list

i. Forbes India has released the annual India rich list and Reliance
Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped the Forbes' '100
Richest Indians' list.

ii. India's richest pharmaceutical magnate Dilip Shanghvi remains at

2nd. Click here for more

Centre appoints three members to Monetary Policy

Committee
i. The Centre has appointed 3 members to the Monetary Policy
Committee.
ii. They are Chetan Ghate, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute;
Pami Dua, Director, Delhi, School of Economics; and Ravindra
Dholakia, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
The members will have a term of four years

Ritu Rani retires from international hockey

i. Former Indian women's hockey captain Ritu Rani has announced
her retirement from international hockey.

ii. The 24-year-old midfielder made the announcement in a mail to

Hockey India president Narinder Batra.

Mohan M Shantanagoudar new CJ of Kerala

i. Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar was sworn in as Chief Justice of
Kerala High Court.

ii. Governor Justice(Retd) P Sathasivam administered the oath of

office to Justice Shantanagoudar, who was the acting Chief justice.

Girish Chandra Gupta sworn in as Calcutta HC chief

justice
i. Justice Girish Chandra Gupta was sworn in as Chief Justice of
Calcutta High Court.

ii. West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi administered the oath of office
to Justice Gupta at the Raj Bhavan

Dhoni named captain of India's all-time Test XI by

Wisden
i. MS Dhoni has been named as captain of the Wisden's all-time India
Test XI team.

ii. The team was announced as India is all set to face New Zealand in
Kanpur for their 500th test match.
HDFC Bank named Indias most valuable brand
i. HDFC Bank has emerged as Indias most valuable brand for the
third consecutive year, ranking first on the BrandZ Top 50 list
released by WPP Group.

iii. HDFC Bank was followed by Airtel and SBI in the list.

Rafale deal cleared

i. The government has cleared the much-anticipated deal with
France for 36 Rafale fighter jets which will cost 7.878 billion Euros.

ii. Last year, the original plan to buy 126 planes was scaled down to
36 due to the Air Force's urgent requirement.

SIEMA inks pact with Anna varsity

i. The Southern India Engineering Manufacturers Association
(SIEMA) has inked an agreement with Anna University, Regional
Campus, Coimbatore (AURCC) to work jointly on projects required for
industries.

Industrialist Adi Godrej conferred Clinton Global

Citizen Award
i. Industrialist Adi Godrej, the Chairman of Mumbai-based Godrej
Group, was conferred the 10th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Award
for leadership in business and philanthropy.

ii. The award recognises Godrej's leadership in transforming the

intersection of business and philanthropy and making the Godrej
Group a global example of what can be achieved through inclusive,
sustainable business strategies.

Oxford tops the list as the world's leading university

i. In the latest Times Higher Education world rankings index, Oxford
topped the list as the world's leading university, followed by the
California Institute of Technology, Stanford and Cambridge.

ii. The United States had 63 institutions in the top 200, while the UK
had 32 and Australia had eight.
iii. Asian universities, with more rising up the list in 2016, the
region's top institution National University of Singapore was ranked
24th.

23 sep

President, PM launch VP's book titled "Citizen and

Society"
i. President Pranab Mukherjee has released Vice President Hamid
Ansaris book Citizen and Society at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in
presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ii. The book is a collection of lectures delivered by Hamid Ansari

ranging from the role of women in a multicultural society to other
dynamics of a democratic nation.

Important Union Cabinet Approvals

i. Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to the enhancement of
Pension for Freedom Fighters.

ii. Union Cabinet approved Agreement between India and Samoa for
the exchange of information on Taxes

iii. Cabinet approves the provision of submarine optical fibre cable

connectivity between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Click
here for more...

Andhra Bank ties up with Cigna TTK, Reliance General

Insurance
i. Andhra Bank has entered into corporate agency agreements with
Cigna TTK Company Ltd, and Reliance General Insurance Company
Ltd for providing health and general insurance respectively, to its
customers.

ii. These partnerships will provide mutual benefit to the bank and
insurance companies in tapping the potential in the market and also
help in increasing the insurance coverage
Sahoo is bankruptcy board chief
i. The Centre has appointed Madhusudan Sahoo as chairperson of
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.

ii. Sahoo is at present a member of the Competition Commission of

India.

Navtej Sarna appointed Ambassador to the US

i. India's High Commissioner to UK Navtej Sarna was appointed as
Ambassador to the US.

ii. Mr Sarna is also a prolific author of many fiction and non-fiction

books, the most recent being 'Second Thoughts: On Books, Authors
and the Writerly Life' that was released last year.

IOCL, GAIL sign MoU for taking equity stake in

Dhamra LNG terminal
i. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited on
21 September 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Dhamra LNG Terminal Private Limited (DLTPL) for taking equity
in the 5 MMTPA capacity LNG Receiving, Storage and Regasification
Terminal.

ii. The Dhamra LNG terminal is being built by Adani Enterprises Ltd
at Dhamra Port, Odisha.

Wipro acquires Chinese FMCG brand

i. Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, the fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) arm of Wipro Enterprises has signed a pact to acquire 100%
shareholding in Zhongshan Ma Er Daily Products to boost its
presence in the fast-growing toiletries and liquid detergent space in
south China.
India International Seafood Show in Vizag from today
i. The 20th Edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS-2016) to
be organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority
(MPEDA) will be kick-started in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

ii. India International Seafood Show is one of the largest Seafood

Fairs in Asia.

Afghanistan signs peace deal with militant group

Hezb-e-Islami
i. Afghanistan has signed a peace agreement with one of the
country's largest militant groups Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar.

ii. This agreement paves the way for Hekmatyar to make a political
comeback.

iii. As per the agreement, Hekmatyar will be granted amnesty for his
offences and the prisoners of Hezb-e-Islami will be released by the
government.

Two-Indians selected for wildlife awards

i. Two Indian forest officials, Sanjay Dutta and Ritesh Sarothiya, have
been selected for the 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement
Awards.

ii. Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards honours

individuals engaging in exemplary law enforcement actions to
protect wildlife.

24 sep

India, Russia begin joint military exercise in

Vladivostok
i. The 8th edition of the Indo-Russia joint military exercise Indra
2016 was flagged off in Vladivostok in Russia.

ii. Indra, a portmanteau of the names of both the countries, is a

biannual exercise which has been carried out between the two allies
since 2003.
Union Cabinet clears new India-Cyprus DTAA
i. The Cabinet has approved a revised Double Tax Avoidance
Agreement (DTAA) between India and Cyprus that provides for
source-based taxation of capital gains on transfer of shares instead
of one based on residence.

Committees for the birth centenary of Pandit

Deendayal Upadhyay
i. The PM, Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the constitution of two
committees for the commemoration of the birth centenary of Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyay.

ii. The Prime Minister will chair a 149 member National Committee,
and the Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, will chair a 23 member
Executive Committee.

Arun Goyal appointed Additional Secretary in GST

Council
i. Senior IAS officer Arun Goyal has been appointed as Additional
Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.

ii. The Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is mandated

to decide on tax rate, exempted goods and the threshold limit.

Visaranai to take a shot at Oscar nomination

i. Visaranai, the Tamil docu-drama crime thriller, has been chosen
Indias official entry to Best Foreign Language Film category at the
89th Academy Awards to be held in 2017.

Sanjiv Singh is new Chairman of IOC

i. Sanjiv Singh will be the new Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation
Ltd. (IOC).

ii. IndianOil Corporation Ltd is India's largest commercial enterprise.

TN government for Thaaliku Thangam scheme under
marriage assistance programme
i. The Tamil Nadu government has allotted Rs 204 crore towards the
implementation of the enhanced gold scheme under a marriage
assistance programme.

ii. Rs 204 crore has been allotted for Thaaliku Thangam (Gold for
Mangalsutra) scheme for the year 2016-17 to benefit 12,500 women.

First Jesse Owens Award goes posthumously to

Muhammad Ali
i. The first-ever Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award-2016 will be
posthumously bestowed to Olympic champion Muhammad Ali, who
passed away on June 3, 2016.

Childhood cancer awareness exhibition at Taj Mahal

from Sept. 25
i. The first-of-its-kind exhibition on childhood cancer awareness will
be held at the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra from September 25 to 27,
2016.

ii. The exhibition CanKids-Kidscan will be organised by National

Society for Change for Childhood Cancer in India.

Hindi and Urdu writer Reoti Saran Sharma passes

away
i. Reoti Saran Sharma, the renowned Hindi and Urdu writer,
playwright and television personality, died in New Delhi on 23
September 2016.

ii. He was 92 years.

25sep
Madhya Pradesh passes GST Amendment Bill
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly has passed the Goods and Service
Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill. MP became the seventh
state in the country to ratify the historic tax amendment bill.

Before Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam,

Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already passed the bill in
their respective assemblies.

Sania Mirza-Barbora Strycova crowned womens

doubles champions at Pan Pacific Open
Indias Sania Mirza along with her partner Barbora Strycova from
Czech Republic produced a straight sets win over Chinas Chen Liang
and Zhaoxuan Yang in the final to win the womens doubles titles at
Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on 24 September 2016.

The current tournament in Tokyo is Sanias 40th doubles title win

and third in Tokyo.

Arun Goyal appointed Additional Secretary in GST

Council
Arun Goyal , senior IAS officer has been appointed as Additional
Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.

The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was

mandated to decide on tax rate, exempted goods and the threshold
limit.

Five Indian cities in the top 100 Mastercard Global

Destinations Cities Index
Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi , Kolkata and Pune are the Indian cities
that have made to the list of top 100 cities in the sixth annual
Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index.

Kolkata ranks 62nd in the index.The study is based on data from

IATA, National Tourism Boards, IMF and other organisations.
Govt appoints ICICI Prudential AMC to manage new
CPSE ETF
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management,
Ministry of Finance has appointed ICICI Prudential Asset
Management Company Ltd as the asset management company for
the creation and launch of a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

ftCash, ICICI Bank team up to launch UPI for micro-

merchants
Mobile payments and loans start-up ftcash, backed by IvyCap
Ventures, is the first fintech start-up to launch Unified Payment
Interface (UPI) for merchants in association with ICICI Bank.

ftcash is a virtual POS for micro-merchants to accept payments

through credit cards, debit cards, and wallets such as Freecharge,
Mobikwik, and PayPal, among others.

Race Course Road renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg

The Prime Minister's residential address will now be 7 Lok Kalyan
Marg and not the famous Race Course Road with the authorities has
approved the renaming of the iconic British-era road in posh
Lutyens' Delhi.

A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting of the

New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) presided by Chief Minister of
Delhi Arvind Kejriwal.

Chandigarh Administration, French Development

Agency sign MoUs
Chandigarh Administration and French Development Agency (AFD)
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoUs) on Chandigarh
Smart City Project and 'Technical Cooperation' in the field of
Sustainable Urban Mobility.

Rajasthan replaces 5 lakh streetlights with LED bulbs

Rajasthan becomes the first state to adopt Centre's Street
Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies
(ULB). Almost 5 lakh conventional streetlights have been replaced
with LED streetlights across the state.

The project has been funded by Energy Efficiency Services Limited

(EESL), a public energy services company under the administration
of Union ministry of power at no cost to the state.

Lopamudra Raut , the second runner-up at Miss

United Continents 2016
Lopamudra Raut makes india proud as she stands tall as the
second runner-up at Miss United Continents 2016, which was held on
25th Sept, 2016 in Ecuador.

32 participants from the four continents of America, Asia, Europe

and Africa were a part of this grand event. Whereas Jeslyn Santos
from Philippines won the Miss United Continents 2016 title,
Lopamudra Raut won the second runner-up title.